Saturday, April 9, 2016

The Tin Snail


Cameron McAllistar, The Tin Snail: The Little Car that Won a War. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2016.



The Tin Snail is a relatively new book, so you may not find it in your local library.

It's set in France and about a boy named Angelo. His father is a well known car designer. He makes a hit car at the '38 auto show, then his career goes downhill (in a car, of course).  He decides to take a vacation to the French countryside to try to come up with another hit. In the process, he makes a bet with the mayor to make a at that can carry: 

                              A farmer, 
                               His wife,
                            Two dozen eggs,
                       A flagon (bottle) of wine,
                            And two chickens.

(This was a big idea! At the time, only rich people had cars.) Then a war breaks out (World War II) and provides a major obstacle, as the Nazis try to find the car and Angelo's mother gets stuck in Italy. 

I can't give away the ending, so you'll have to read it yourself.

I loved the entire book! I had no idea that the French tried to make a people's car.(The book makes me feel sad it wasn't as successful as VW's Beetle.)


If you like historical books or books with lots of suspense and adventure, then you'll love this book. Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics (see my review of that too) is another suspenseful book you might like too.

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